This disclosure relates to fibers of ethylene-based polymers, suitable for spunbond nonwoven fabrics. Spunbond nonwoven fabrics are widely used in various applications, such as hygiene, medical, industrial, or automotive applications to provide low basis weight, economical, strong, and cloth-like fabrics. In the case of hygiene articles such as diapers, there is a need for soft nonwoven fabrics. Fibers based on ethylene polymers used in nonwoven fabrics impart enhanced softness to the fabrics when compared to conventional nonwoven fabrics based on polypropylene. However, fibers of ethylene-based polymers and nonwoven fabrics made thereof have lower modulus and tensile strength, when compared with equivalent fibers and fabrics made from polypropylene. The lack of comparable modulus and tensile strength is a challenge in substitution of polypropylene with ethylene-based polymers offering enhanced softness, due to requirements associated with down-stream processing of nonwoven fabrics into hygiene articles like baby diapers, as well as end-use performance requirements.
A need therefore exists for ethylene-based polymer fibers with increased modulus and tensile strength that can be made into soft nonwoven fabrics having increased modulus and tensile strength.